99% of Exit Visas Approved, China Says

PEKING — China said Sunday that under new relaxed travel regulations introduced in February, 99% of all exit visa applications have been approved. The newspaper People's Daily said that the new policy, under which local authorities must justify refusal to approve applications for overseas travel, has basically solved the problems once faced by Chinese citizens trying to get passports and exit visas.

"According to statistics, people whose applications for exit visas are refused account for only about 1% of total applicants," the paper said. It added that people who are refused exit visas can appeal, but no one has done so since the new regulations went into force.